I have a couple of harmonica students, and was showing one of them how to bend, using an F, since that one always seemed easy to bend. He had just bought a bunch of Manjis (from Ron, he went to his house), including some of the new low ones. So I showed him the bends on hole 3, and then switched to a low F (Special 20, in a TurboLid). I was going to show him how it wasn't as easy to bend on a low harp, but when I actuated my bends, my embouchure (well, my "chamber") was the same as on the high harp. So I didn't need a lower "note" for the low harp--just the right one. Anybody else ever notice this? Check it out!
Jeez I always found the Bb and C harp's to be the easiest to bend .. short reed E and F's are tougher as are A & G's .. imo ... haven't tried a low F , so that is unknown territory ...
Last Edited by mastercaster on Mar 03, 2015 11:02 PM
I think that this short video is full of harmonica lessons, and it applies to this situation. Although it is about "tone", the lesson applies to bending, too. It is about tuning ourselves to a note, not just "tone".
A simple concept, meaning that goes beyond the designated topic of the video, and worth reviewing periodically. I keep revisiting this... ----------
I knew what video this was going to be as soon as I read Doug's message, even before the link displayed. Thanks for "putting this where I can find it." It really does show the power of vocal resonance (that's what I have been calling it lately).
In my experience, the tongue placement, etc, is very similar with high and low end harmonicas. I notice that I move all reference points (without changing them much) forward in my mouth the higher the harmonica, move them back the lower the harmonic.
However, I do notice a difference between high and low - in other words, I don't approach them the same. ---------- The Iceman
Truth be told, you absolutely HAVE to learn to make adjustments to your embouchure and the adjustments are VERY SUBTLE and most people tend to either just do it one way an nothing else or when they try to adjust, they tend to go non automatic pilot and do it in a heavily exaggerated way, which means in the end, you HAVE to make subtle adjustments for each key harp, and sometimes it may be from the embouchure, or in the inside of your mouth and most players either over exaggerate or try to compensate by playing considerably harder in terms of breath force. ---------- Sincerely, Barbeque Bob Maglinte Boston, MA http://www.barbequebob.com CD available at http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/bbmaglinte
